Is it worth studying for a psychology degree?

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I am currently studing on a social science access course and have previously studied A'level psychology.

I have a passion for the subject and without wanting to sound vain I appear to have a natural apptitude for it.

What I'm wondering is would it be worth studying for a psychology degree? It appears to be such a popular course with only limited job opportunities at the end of it. Plus in order to study psychology it would mean an hour and half commute each way to uni.

Alternativly I could persue a career in primary teaching. I can study for a degree in early childhood studies at a college which is within walking distance from my house. Plus a career in teaching would be far more convinent with being a single mum.

Any advice appreciated

I'd do the teaching because If you actually want to go into a relevant career after doing a phsychology degree you will need to do quite a bit of further study too.

I think there are quite a few psychology graduates on here.

I did it as a mature student with the idea of going into research. I enjoyed the degree but found by the end of it that the qualifications needed to work in psychology had shifted. I had to do a masters (cost £2,500) before getting a job and that took several months. I had relevant voluntary experience too. I was lucky to get to get a job though as it seemed more and more places wanted a PhD.

Research contracts are usually pretty poor in that they are for set periods (e.g. 6 months/12 months) so things like maternity leave don't feature in them and job security doesn't feature.

If money and a career are an issue I would go for the teaching. Plus it sounds like it would be much easier with being a mother too.

One of my uni housemates did a psychology degree & is now in the army!

What would you find more interesting?

What would be more useful for a career?

Could you do psychology & then teach?

Could you do the teaching & then study psychology later on as a further interest topic for example?

Sorry don't have any answers, just thinking of questions I'd ask myself in this situation.

In your position I would do the teaching. I did psychology and was lucky as I went into research after and got a salaried research job with a Ph.D funded on a 2.5 year contract. I ended up rather unexpectedly pregnant with DD a few months into it and didn't get round to doing the Ph.D. I wish I'd done something more vocational. Oh, and I got shafted with maternity pay. Although employed by a University there was a clause in the contract that it depended on the rules of the funding body as to whether to you got more than statutory pay. Mine didn't where as other people I worked with would have. With hindsight, I'm not sure that was completely legal but that's a long time ago now.

I did a degree in psychology, it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. It doesn't really qualify you for anything at the end of it. To do anything further in the field requires further study at the end of the degree. If you are interested in teaching and psychology, there is a desperate shortage of educational psychologists. this would mean doing the pych degree then a B,Ed after. If I were doing my time again I would do something more vocational.

If you wanted to be an Educational Psychologist, you wouldn't need to do a 4 year BEd to get the teaching qualification, you could do a PGCE (12 months).

Last time I looked (I was considering becoming an Ed Psych as I was a teacher), you needed to do at least 2 years teaching and then an MA in Ed Psychology. But the rules were changing, whereby you could only becoming an Ed Psych after gaining a PhD qualification which obviously takes longer.

If you are serious about teaching, think very carefully about it - personally, I didn't find it compatible with having a young family at all, although there are plenty of people on here who do find it works for them when they have kids.

I would do what you want to do.

if you have a psychology degree, you can always teach primary, i think. which sounds like what you are headed for?

Why not do an open university degree? I am doing a degree with them-they really are great. I don't think having an OU degree will hinder you in teaching, though I could be wrong.

sorry, meant to say, if you do your first degree in psychology, you could then do the PGCE, you don't need to do a the BEd to get QTS.

Agree about teaching. I did a psychology degree and think that without a lot of luck and extra study possibility of a career in psychology is quite limited. I ended up working in brain injury rehab as a rehab co ordinator then moved on to be a mental health outreach worker. I think both times it had more to do with luck and my personality than my degree as a friend studied same degree as me and now works as for the Child support agency.

I did a psychology degree, and then a psychology Masters degree - I then did a pgce - as at the time i was interested in ed psych as a career. Be warned I had trouble getting on to a pgce course - I did eventually but it wasn't a natural progression and most places I applied rejected me. Now this is 15 years years ago so maybe things have changed..at the time they were funny because it wasn't a national curriculum subject (fairly new back then) but there was no obvious other reason for me to be rejected. I was 24, had been volunteering in a school one day a week for a year, had my two degrees and two years of work in Schools liaison as part of a university pr department,and had completeted a 6 week placemant with an ed psych. as part of my degree.

I tried to get on a PGCe but was rejected, unfortunately the places are linited and they are looking to recruit more men and/or people with a science background. A degree per se will not get you on the PGCE, nor will experience in working with children.

The training for Ed Psychs has changed. Now you need a BPS accredited degree in Psychology, plus a 3 year doctorate in Ed Psych. You no longer need to have a teaching qualification.

I am trained as a teacher (secondary), and I'm currently doing a Psychology degree "for fun". I'm not sure what, if anything, I'll do with it. You have to do what you love though. I found that out the hard way.

teach ! so many people want to be pyschologists now they should look into their own minds

Thanks for the advice. The majority of you seem to have confirmed my opinion that although I really enjoy studying psychology a psychology degree on its own is unlikely to get me far.

Think there are alot of deluded people on my access course though, they think they will get a psychology degree and become the next Fitz. At least I'm being realistic.

Any further comments and opinions would be welcome though I think I've already made my decision.

otoh, a psychology degree is fun

I'd do what you love as far as possible. I have this problem also. I have just done a general OU science first year, and I love Physics. But Chemistry is where the jobs I want are. So I know, its hard.

Bear in mind, if its the subject matter you love, you can always do an OU degree or similar. They are good, hard degrees, IMO. I have a first class honours degree from Edinburgh already. They are not an easier option, no way